Disclaimer/Caution: This article is for entertainment purposes only. The author nor the site publisher assumes any liability for modifications you make to your iBook, which voids the warranty and overclocking may affect short or long term reliability. Incorrectly done modifications may cause immediate system damage.

OS X TimeBase Issue w/100Mhz Bus Speeds: An iBook owner running a 100Mhz bus speed noted that in OS X 10.0x the clock (time) is about 33% too fast. Michiro Isobe replied this is due to a timebase issue in OS X with bus-overclocked Core99 (UniN) Macs. Just a warning for those that overclock the iBook bus speed. Update - Thanks to Chris for sending an OpenFirmware patch that solved the problem (verified by Tycho - but *use at your own risk*) For those not familiar with OF tweaks, see this 1999 article on sawtooth OF bus tweaking. [Note - I do not know if later OS X versions solved the timebase issue.]

Intro:Since it's release...I knew that I was going to buy a iBook2. That sweet XGA screen and good speed combined with an excellent case design, light weight, and a low price make it a unbeatable value. I also knew that I was going to overclock it, as I have done with ALL my desktop computers over the last few years. Shortly after receiving it tho, I began to have second thoughts about tearing into my new portable. The machine worked well and had ample speed for most tasks that a portable is used for (DVD playback, word processing, mp3 playback, occasional game)... It is for this reason that I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS TO YOUR iBook! It is an excellent machine in stock form and has more than enough speed for 99% of users.

Additionally, taking a compact laptop apart is a very daunting task (I'd say that it is at least 3x more difficult than completely disassembling one of Apple's current towers). There are dozens of screws and small parts, and the case has to be pried off of the magnesium frame. Not a walk in the park. I took my time the first time around and 1.5 hours later I had the motherboard out. It was very stressful and there are no guarantees that you will be able to get any extra speed out of YOUR PARTICULAR iBook. You will also lose your warranty and it is likely that local service shops will refuse to work on your iBook as well. That said, here is what I did to mine :)

Step 2: Removal of case panels
The bottom of the case is held on with 8 screws. There are the 3 visible hex screws, 3 phillips head screws beneath the "feet", and 2 screws inside the battery bay. The "feet" pop off rather easily by prying on them with a flat blade screwdriver.